Running Into Figure Six

Days passed again and i was very excited to resume work. I ignored Wills when he gave me a tricky look and feigned a cough as I passed by his office. Whatever he saw, he had to deal with it.

When he openly asked me after work, if I made any friends yet, I simply asked, ‘Does my nosy neighbour count?’ and walked away in a not-so polite way.

I hate it when people lecture me about having a social life. If only they knew I had Jessie. And that she was better off than having a truckload of friends.

People are too mean to be kept close. Finding one who’s actually not mean is a blessing- Wills probably had no idea how amazing it was, to find one you could keep.

One who’s not mean, and a friend whose life is void of every schadenfreude there is in the human circle. Or a stranger like that.

The rest of the weeks after my leave was hectic. We had more clients lodging in, and coming to sign documents- both international figures and locals, so much that the bone in my wrist painfully cracked at the end of every day but it was worth it.

I was basically writing, smiling, nodding and signing documents non-stop, and relating very well with all our clients.

It pleased Wills because he shook my hands during lunch break for a tad too long time, and even offered to buy me dinner- something he never told his P. A

“Wills, I have a boyfriend, a freaking hot boyfriend. Well, he’s yet to put a ring on it but I’m certain it’ll be pretty soon” I told him, and he just shook his head, repeating, “You realize I’m your boss, Clarissa?” as if it were a nursery rhyme he got addicted to.

“Yes, boss. I’ll just have dinner in my house, all alone. Thank you” I said and I thought I heard his personal assistant laugh. The others just shook their heads and buried their heads in their computers. They didn’t have the kind of relationship I had with Wills Taylor.

Even I do not understand how easy it was for me, to slap back at him like that.

How I talked to him sometimes was enough to get me fired, but I just did not care sometimes, and oh my, he took my nonchalance with levity and grace, backing it up with ridiculous threats- ones that wouldn’t even move a kid.

After work, on the day Wills asked me to dinner, I was walking to the bus station to catch a early bus back home, when a scene began to play right next to me.

I would never expect that kind of stuff to have happened so close to me.

A man who was probably in his early thirties and dressed in a longish, bluish gimcrack coat, was dragging, not holding a rapunzel-I mean she had really loooooong hair- by her hand. She also seemed to be limping.

It was pretty easy dragging such a well-built lady since he was such a longimanous creature, as in he had terribly long, big hands.

Dont blame me. I think I’ve been noticing things more quickly and intently since I relocated. Or maybe everything seemed too ‘long’ and ‘big’ to not be noticed.

Anyways, Their feet, I mean the longish couple’s feet were moving so swiftly down the road I could barely catch every move, but I sure could hear him faintly cussing under his breath.

At a time, he stopped pulling her hands, and he just dragged her hair in a way that it must have really hurt.

I could not catch the lady’s expression because the hair was covering most of her face.

And to be candid, if not for the hair and the limping, I would say she looked pretty familiar- i knew someone back in college who had that same exact butt, skin color and build. That person was someone I could never forgive because of what they did to me.This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

The man’s other longish hand, the free one was balling into a fist and I could see his veins popping in his wrists. I didn’t know this couple, but whatever they were arguing about must be really, really nerve-wracking.

He dragged her hair down the alley away from the bus station, and I just could not take my eyes off them as they disappeared into that alley.

I looked at my watch and realized it was ten minutes past 6pm already. I still had time before the second bus arrived.

So I followed them stealthily, acting like I also had something to do in the alley. I didn’t know if it was from the fact that I could relate with this- Gerald hit me sometimes- or because I was curious to see the lady’s face.

I walked a couple of minutes before I turned to hide somewhere because I saw them stop too, somewhere in between some trees.

The guy pushed her to her knees, but she fell stomach down, and then he looked around to see if it was safe.

I mean, they were in a pretty enclosed area, so I bet he had at least five good minutes before someone else could catch them – the alley was technically peopleless.

I was panting because he looked like he could be a serial killer. Now i could see how visibly shaken the lady was.

He snatched her walking stick and started to batter her back, with it. He was still cussing, lashingly, and I just wanted to go out there and do something.

It was not a good thing that she took all the lashing without yelling.

But I did not know if he was dangerous, if he would hurt me too, if i should call the police, or just mind my business.

I think i stood there for five whole minutes watching him do that to her, and I felt so so bad.

It didn’t take a lot of time to convince me that i had to call the police, when I saw him scoop her up in one swift move, and then proceeded to fuck her against a tree.

Immediately my call was taken and they asked what my emergency was, I stood there, speechless because then, she turned and looked in my direction, her face replete with powerlessness. And I let myself register her facial features that moment.

Enid?

She was yelling but it was stifled by his large hands on her mouth, while he thrust into her violently and repeatedly.

And it was the one person i could never, ever forgive.

“Hello, how may we help you?”

“Sorry” i simply said and hanged up. Then without giving myself a chance to think it over, I turned back towards the road and ran all the way to the bus station.

***

When I got home, I rushed into the shower immediately, trying to wash off the scene of Enid’s assault from my head.

I will never forgive Enid Heather.

I spent an hour under the shower telling myself I would never forgive her for what she did to me in College. The memories from that day began to rush through my mind and it felt fresh once more.

Getting out of the shower only brought me closer to my guilt. And instead of a feeling of relief from taking vengeance on your assailant, I felt so much guilt instead. Guilt from running from my fears, guilt from ignoring Rooney when he waved, as I barged into my apartment, but mostly guilt from my past.

No, I felt mostly anger- full blown rage that could burn down, and reduce a building into rubbles, except that it was burning my heart instead. Because of my past’s incursion into my present.

I should have helped her. I should have saved Enid from that predator. No matter what she had done to me in the past.

I should not have taken to my heels. Dad wouldn’t do that. He would have saved her if he were me.

“Oh no” I sighed, wondering what situation she was in at that moment. Maybe she would never find help and he would eventually kill her quietly, after having his fill from her body.

Because I chose not to save her.

She had seen me. I was not sure if she recognized me from that distance, and for the split seconds our eyes met, but she had seen me. It’ll forever be registered in her head that someone who had a chance to save her, fled instead of saving her.

Still I couldn’t have brought myself to do it. I would have ruined it anyways. Because she did not deserve it. She did not deserve to be helped by me.